Chris Blackwell, the entrepreneur who founded Island Records, which launched Bob Marley and Grace Jones among others, is taking a shot at his next big hit — a shot of rum, that is.
Blackwell is launching his namesake Jamaican rum at an A-list party in Montauk today, where he plans to make his grand entrance via seaplane.
With Blackwell’s circle of friends, one can expect big names at the reggae bash, including Jimmy Buffett, Bono, Jones, Julian Schnabel, Naomi Watts, Christy Turlington, Gwyneth Paltrow and Theodora Richards.
The dark rum has been sold in Jamaica for a few years, but this is the first time it has gone on the shelves in the US. Blackwell’s partner in the venture is ad-industry heavyweight Richard Kirshenbaum.
The “Goldeneye” drink (rum, simple syrup, lime, pineapple, orange juice and a dash of bitters) will be served at the party at Navy Beach restaurant in Montauk.
Blackwell recently inked a deal with the creator of “American Idol,” Simon Fuller, to develop media and branding deals for big name musicians who no longer have recording contracts. Julie Earle-Levine
Ponzi threads
OK, so maybe Bernie Madoff wasn’t the best at protecting assets in the past.
But things have changed since the Ponzi schemer started wearing orange jumpsuits, leaving behind a wardrobe of classy duds that are now being custom-tailored again to protect every tech lover’s prized possession, the iPad.
Eight months ago, New Yorker John Vaccaro started an upscale line of covers with an array of luxury fabrics (such as cashmere, silk, rayon and wool), ranging from $35-$90, to shield Apple’s creation from harm.
His company’s Web site, FrederickJames.com, had less traffic than a Wyoming side street until he put a handful of items on sale.
“I took some of the cashmere sweaters and a few pants I purchased at the Madoff auction and went to the Garment District,” explained Vaccaro, who also mentioned that the idea of Amazon Kindle covers is on his radar.
“The five iPad covers they made sold in one day,” he said. “Then there were hundreds of e-mails asking when they would be in stock again. Online visitors have skyrocketed from a handful to thousands.”
Luckily, Vaccaro still has a lot of threads left to continue profiting.
The lot of sweaters and trousers Vaccaro successfully bid on and secured ran him about $2,500. Vaccaro wouldn’t give On The Money a sniff of what he’s pocketed, but when you consider the Madoff line ranges from $250-$500, it’s fair to say he’s already broken even and is about to really start cashing in when the leaves turn colors.
His goal is to have 10 more iPad covers from sweaters and 40 from pants by November at the latest, as he currently waits for his number to be called at a factory in the Garment District.
Oh, and for those of you appalled by Vaccaro’s product, he offered, “All the money from the auction went to the victims. . . . All I did was create a secondary market that Wall Street-types and memorabilia collectors are very interested in.
“When I started my company, I knew I needed something genuine to catch people’s attention. . . and this was it.” Joseph Barracato
Hold your horses
Hi-Yo Silver, No Way!
That’s the feeling of a long-time Disney exec closely tied to the newest film adaptation of “The Lone Ranger,” which saw production halted over concerns director Gore Verbinski was galloping past the film’s $250 million budget.
In pre-production the script called for werewolves to be roaming the range, but that was nixed because of the expected higher post-production costs for special effects.
“They originally eliminated supernatural creatures from the script and were way over budget,” our insider told On The Money. “Right there you knew there was going to be problems. Supernatural creatures in a Western?”
Among those steaming is producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp, playing Tonto.
A call and e-mail to Depp’s rep weren’t returned by press time.
Disney, which was hoping to have the film in theaters for Christmas 2012, are still smarting over the disastrous response to their most recent Western, “Cowboys & Aliens,” which has tanked.
“At first glance, we were thinking franchise with all the names involved,” our source said.
“Now, it would be a massive long-shot this project ever sees the light of day again.” Joseph Barracato